The Challenge

CML Properties is an established property management company serving high quality commercial, residential and strata properties. Until recently, the company was using a carbon-copy paper work order system to track the property maintenance and repair work they perform for their clients.

Previously, the CML Properties team would spend time in daily meetings distributing and signing off on timesheets and work order forms. Approving, collating, and entering this information into spreadsheets took a significant amount of time. To keep a complete record of work performed, timesheets would also have to be photocopied several times and the relevant line item highlighted for each client.

"It was a very inefficient, time consuming way of handling workforce management," said Craig McIntyre, Property Manager at CML Properties. "The field technicians were filling in paper timesheets and our accounting people had to collate all that information and generate invoices from those pieces of paper."

CML Properties looked for a mobile solution that would reduce paperwork, improve productivity in the field, and save hours of administrative time in the office.

The Solution

CML Properties deployed Flowfinity for mobile dispatch, work orders, timesheets, and support for quick access to company information on mobile devices. Flowfinity was selected for its flexibility to adapt to the property management company's specific business requirements.

"I looked for other applications in the marketplace, but I couldn't find anything that suited our needs as a property management company," said McIntyre. "What attracted me to Flowfinity was the ability for us to customize mobile workflows to reflect the way we do business."

The company's field technicians now submit job reports and timesheets from their mobile devices - a mix of employee-owned and corporate-owned iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry smartphones. The information is sent to a database where it can be accessed immediately in the office or from mobile devices, delivering real-time visibility into daily field operations.

With Flowfinity software, CML Properties has:

Eliminated 2 staff meetings every week

Reduced invoicing time from 1.5 days to half an hour

Improved productivity and accountability in the field

Gained competitive advantage

Improved customer service

Workforce management

With Flowfinity, field technicians now submit reports from their mobile devices as soon as they complete jobs throughout the day. This makes it easier for management to keep track of jobs in progress, in real-time.

"We can see when we dispatched a work order and when the work order was done, giving us better control and accountability internally," said McIntyre. "Even if I am out of town, I can quickly pull up what my team did yesterday, for example, on my mobile device."

Better visibility and streamlined communication have enabled CML Properties to reduce staff meetings from every day to three times a week. Meeting time is spent more productively on problem solving for clients instead of managing internal issues such as time tracking or bookkeeping. "With Flowfinity, the whole flow within the office in terms of managing employees is so much simpler," said McIntyre.

Replacing paper with easy-to-use apps has also improved productivity in the field. "It's easier for the staff in the field to have all of their work orders on their smartphones instead of having to carry around a clipboard full of paper," said McIntyre.

Back office efficiency

Now that property maintenance information is submitted electronically, the accounting backend at CML Properties is faster and more accurate. All of the data is summarized and searchable by billable hours, overtime, date, client, staff member, etc.

"On the reporting side, what used to take a day and a half, is now closer to half an hour," said McIntyre.
"Reconciling the information is faster and easier too. All of our information in the Flowfinity database correlates to an invoice
summary, so we know we haven't missed any billable time."

Customer service

CML Properties has improved customer service and accountability to their clients with up-to-date electronic records of maintenance work performed. "Because we handle trust accounts for our clients, we need an audit trail and a consistent way to track our activities from a due diligence point of view," said McIntyre.

A record of services performed can be sent directly to the customer from Flowfinity, or accessed on a mobile device. "Now when we meet with our clients, I can pull up information about the property on my smartphone," he said. "I no longer have to spend time looking through a paper trail to find the information."

Competitive advantage

Being at the forefront of mobile technology has given CML Properties a competitive advantage. Flowfinity software enables the company to be more efficient and maximize resources in the field and in the office.

"Flowfinity differentiates us from our competitors by giving us accountability and due diligence back to our clients," said McIntyre. "We develop long-term relationships with our clients, and they appreciate that we have become more productive and effective with the resources we have."

Future

CML Properties plans to expand their use of Flowfinity software to make critical information available for around-the-clock access on mobile devices. Other future plans include incorporating third party vendor POs, and managing daily tasks of other staff members.

"There is definitely opportunity for us to expand the usage," said McIntyre. "I would like to incorporate emergency response protocols and make client information available after hours on mobile devices in event of an emergency. We will also look into using the software to prioritize and optimize the tasks that the property managers perform on a daily basis."

Flowfinity differentiates us from our competitors by giving us accountability and due diligence
back to our clients. We develop long-term relationships with our clients,
and they appreciate that we have become more productive and effective with the resources we have.